Restorative Practice is a values-based philosophy which honours the understanding that we are profoundly relational, interconnected and inherently good. The relational practices and explicit language aim to consciously build relationships and respond to harm /conflict in a way that honours relationships.
Restorative practice (RP) encompasses a set of principles that help us to cultivate positive relationships and to manage conflict when it arises, in a healthy, constructive way. It encourages people to take ownership of their actions and to hold others to account for theirs.
Respect is at the core of restorative practice and being respectful to everyone especially to those who you may not see eye to eye with. This in turn will foster fairness and openness in relationships.
The principles of restorative practice are:
● Respect
● Empathy
● Safe
● Personal Accountability
● Equality
● Community
● Trust
When using restorative practice with young people, we consider the following questions as a way to respond to challenging behaviour:
1. “What happened?”
This is an opportunity to model empathy and respect. This stage allows the child to feel understood and heard.
2. “What were you thinking at the time?”
Identifying and understanding the feelings and needs that cause behaviour can help to resolve it.
3. “What have your thoughts been since?”
This step helps the child to learn what is and is not acceptable behaviour.
4. “Who has been affected by your actions and in what way?”
The objective at this stage is to help the child to develop empathy towards others.
5. “How could things have been done differently?”
This allows the child to develop strategies that will meet their needs in a way that is respectful of other peoples’ needs.
6. “What do you think needs to happen next?”
The child learns to repair harm and restore relationships that might have been broken in moments of conflict.